Eyes Like Mine
by Spunky0ne
Summary: Kisuke makes a terrible sacrifice to protect a pregnant Tetsuya, and is left with only a few months to live. Amidst learning that his dearest friend and mentor is dying, a devastated Ichigo discovers that he is Urahara Kisuke's unfulfilled dream. Urahara/Ichigo, Byakuya/Renji/Tetsuya, yaoi, mpreg.
1. Fruitless Vine

**Eyes Like Mine**

**By Spunky0ne**

**An Urahara/Ichigo and Byakuya/Renji/Tetsuya story.**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Dedicated to 'Jodi' who loves Urahara/Ichigo!**

**(For other stories of mine that feature this pairing, see **_**Mirror Flower, Water Moon**_**, **_**Withering Vine**_** and **_**White Tower**_**! And yes, updates are coming! I am working hard to get a few done this weekend. Enjoy this whilst you wait for those!)**

**Warning: This is a yaoi and mpreg story. If you don't like, don't read.**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 1: Fruitless Vine**

"Where is he?!" Ichigo cried, bursting into the heavily damaged gardens at Kuchiki Manor.

"This way!" a battered Rukia said, hastily grabbing her friend's hand and guiding him to the central gardens, which had been converted into a makeshift triage center.

"Oh my god..." Ichigo breathed, spotting a noticeably pregnant Kuchiki Tetsuya, leaning over a man's collapsed form and infusing him with a pale blue reiatsu,

"Kisuke..."

He rushed to where Byakuya and Renji knelt on either side of their pregnant spouse, watching as Tetsuya and the clan healer worked desperately to save the shopkeeper's life.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked, ignoring his own hurts and focusing his attention on his gravely wounded mentor.

"The quincies that were left after you defeated Juha Bach attacked the manor," Tetsuya explained in a shaken voice.

"One of them captured Tetsuya," Byakuya went on, "and he threatened to kill him unless the rest of us surrendered."

"Kisuke came outta nowhere," Renji panted, wiping a stream of blood away from his face, "He got Tetsuya away from the bastard and yelled for him to run."

"The quincy cast a shower of poisoned quills at me," Tetsuya went on, his voice trembling and tears filling his blue eyes, "and Urahara-san threw himself between us! And now, we can't stop the poison from the quills. I can slow it, but I cannot stop it!"

"What?" Ichigo managed dazedly, "Kisuke is...?"

"He is dying," Byakuya said solemnly, glancing down at the fallen shinigami, "Tetsuya can only infuse him three times a day."

"A-at that r-rate," Kisuke panted, shocking Ichigo as his glazed eyes opened and met the Shiba heir's, "I have...'bout three months, g-give or take a few d-days."

"He is as stable as we can make him now, Byakuya-sama," the healer said quietly, "We should take him to the shelter."

"Arashi," Tetsuya intoned softly, watching as the injured stallion limped towards them.

Tetsuya stumbled to his feet, placing a hand on his slightly rounded abdomen and swallowing hard against the swell of dizziness.

"There, now," Byakuya said in a gentle voice, wrapping a bracing arm around his exhausted and teary cousin, "You have pushed yourself hard enough, Tetsuya."

The clan leader met Renji's eyes.

"Renji, will you make sure that Urahara Kisuke is made comfortable and well guarded? I am going to take Tetsuya to wash up and get something to eat."

"Sure," Renji said, nodding and meeting their spouse's damp eyes, "Hey, it's gonna be okay, all right?"

"B-but it's my fault that he..."

"It wasn't your fault," Byakuya insisted, lifting Tetsuya off his feet and turning away from the scene of destruction behind them, "We were all fighting to survive. Kisuke saw you in trouble, and he acted to protect you of his own free will."

"He's right," Renji agreed, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"B-but, you know he only took that risk...only sacrificed himself...b-because of the baby!" Tetsuya half sobbed, "He took the poison on himself because he knew that the baby couldn't have survived it! If I hadn't..."

"Shh," Byakuya said, kissing the younger noble to quiet him, "Don't think on that, Tetsuya. Just try to remain calm. The stress is not good for our child."

"I know," Tetsuya said softly, "I am just...so sorry! I shouldn't have left the barrier. But that quincy..."

"You kept him from striking Renji and me from behind," Byakuya remembered.

"I couldn't just watch you and Renji die!"

"We understand," Renji said soothingly, turning as the clan healer and Ichigo finished loading the barely conscious shopkeeper onto a small cart pulled by Tetsuya's stallion, "Go on, now. Let Byakuya take care of you. I'll stay with Kisuke and the healer until it's time for the next infusion."

"Me too," added Ichigo, moving with Renji to follow the cart, "He's gonna be okay, Tetsuya. Take care of yourself and your baby now."

Tetsuya nodded wordlessly and buried his face in Byakuya's shoulder as the clan leader carried him into the one still standing portion of the manor.

Ichigo fell in at Renji's side, the two guarding the cart as Arashi pulled it slowly in the direction of the family shelter.

"Tetsuya's pretty torn up," the Shiba heir mused, "It must've been hell here."

"Yeah," Renji said, looking down at Kisuke's dirty and discomfited face, "When they sensed that Bach was dead, they went crazy. It's like they went into berserker mode or something. They were killing anyone they could find."

Renji's lips stiffened for a moment before he could continue.

"Orihime was hit with some weird attack that knocked her out and they can't wake her up. Chad was injured, protecting her and me, Rukia and Byakuya took damage holding them off the shelter, where the women, children and injured men from the family were being protected. That's when we nearly got blindsided and Tetsuya had to come out of the protected area to defend us. Everything just went haywire, then. We were all just desperate to survive. And Kisuke saw that Tetsuya and the baby were threatened."

The redhead swallowed hard, then continued.

"He's the reason we were able to reawaken Tetsuya's breeder ability. He was helping us every step of the way through the pregnancy. I think Kisuke was as excited about the baby as the three of us were."

"Damn..." Ichigo sighed, shaking his head, "I should have killed the son of a bitch, Bach, faster!"

"We all did what we could, baka," Renji scolded him, half-heartedly, "Sometimes shit just happens, you know?"

"But it's not right," Ichigo sighed, shaking his head, "Of all the people I know, he did the most to get us through the quincy war. He counteracted the bankai-stealing medallions and helped the Arrancars fight back against the quincies. And he's the reason Uryu's still alive...that he was able to escape Bach's influence. We would've lost a good friend...many good friends, if not for him!"

"I know," Renji agreed, "And that's why we're not giving up. Tetsuya's gonna infuse him with his power. He can hold off the poison for a few months. And by then, Orihime will be awake and able to help him. Although, I don't really know about her waking up, though," Renji said, looking away for a moment, "She's in really bad shape, Ichigo."

Ichigo let out a strained breath and closed his eyes against the words.

"I'm not gonna think about that," he resolved, "Orihime's gonna wake up and she'll heal him."

Renji sighed and watched sadly as Ichigo moved forward to Kisuke's side. Kisuke stirred sluggishly and looked up at the Shiba heir, admiring his bright ginger hair and the markings of battle that still marked his skin.

"You did good," he managed softly, making Ichigo's head turn, "You made things right again."

"Yeah, well, I had a lot of help. I couldn't have done it without you, you know?"

"I don't know about that..."

"Well, I do," Ichigo stated firmly, "You saved me when Byakuya almost killed me. You helped me to develop my shinigami powers and trained me and my friends to battle Aizen, the bounts and the quincies. I wouldn't still be alive if not for you."

"Heh," chuckled the shopkeeper, "But you're leaving out some things...like how I experimented with hollowfication and how I used Rukia to hide the hougyoku."

"Don't worry about all of that," Ichigo chided him, "It's water under the bridge. It's not important anymore. There are more important things to think about...like not giving up. The times I've been close to dying, it was my will to live that brought me through. You have to keep trying to live."

"Yeah, I get that," Kisuke said, chuckling again as Arashi slowed and stopped at the entrance to a set of caves that were serving as the Kuchiki family's shelter.

Ichigo and Renji moved forward, helping the healer and an attendant to lift the injured shopkeeper from the small cart. Kisuke gasped as he was moved, pain flashing across his features as he was carried into the shelter and laid in bed.

"Ichigo!" cried a feminine voice.

"Orihime!" Ichigo called back, grinning as the human girl limped to Kisuke's side and fell to her knees.

"Inoue-san!" a younger healer exclaimed, "You've just awakened! You cannot be about when you were so recently healed."

"I have to help him!" the girl exclaimed, summoning her power and watching as a golden oval-shaped shield formed over Kisuke's body.

"It's not gonna work," Kisuke whispered in a gravely voice.

"What?" Ichigo mused, "What are you talking about. It's gonna be fine."

"You don't understand," the shopkeeper went on, looking unsurprised as a look of distress overtook Orihime's pretty face, and the oval shield began to crack and break apart, "Y-you remember when you fought Ulquiorra, Ichigo?"

"Yeah, why?"

Orihime's eyes widened.

"I couldn't heal you!" she exclaimed, "I wasn't what saved you that time."

"The reiatsu he wielded was too strong, too disruptive," Kisuke concluded, "These quincies, even the ones left that attacked here were wicked-strong. Their reiatsu is resistant to Orihime's power."

He sighed and closed his eyes as the human girl's power faded and Orihime dissolved into tears.

"She can't heal me, Ichigo. No one can. It's over. J-just a matter of time."

Ichigo started to object, but was stopped by the looks in the clan healers' eyes.

"You see, they get it," Kisuke said weakly, "You need to get it too, Ichigo. You need to just make peace with it."

Ichigo turned to the others in the room.

"Are you done with him for now?"

"Hai, Shiba-sama," the elder healer said, nodding, "We will bring Tetsuya-san later to infuse him."

Renji wrapped an arm around Orihime and led her out of the room. The healers exchanged unhappy glances and followed, leaving Ichigo alone with his mentor.

"What are you gonna do?" Kisuke rasped softly, "Stay here to the end?"

"I'm always there for my friends," Ichigo said, sitting down at his side, "Just tell me what you need and I'll get it for you...anything."

"Can you let me say I'm sorry?" Kisuke asked, closing his eyes.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," Ichigo replied firmly, "All the bad stuff's in the past. Let's leave it there, okay?"

"Okay."

Ichigo sat down next to the bed and brought a cup of water to the shopkeeper's lips, watching quietly as Kisuke took several sips.

"You know, it's funny," the shopkeeper commented, looking down at his hands, "how even when every part of you knows that the end is coming, you still go on doing the same things...waking up, eating, drinking, talking, all that...and then going to sleep again. It's strange how normal I feel."

"Except for the pain," Ichigo whispered, his eyes tragically sad.

"Except for that," Kisuke agreed.

"You need a pain block?" the younger man asked.

"Naw, I'm okay."

"You don't have to tough it out. You should be comfortable."

"I'm fine, really," Kisuke insisted, "Besides, having pain makes me feel like I'm still fighting to stay alive. And even though I know in my head, there's not going to be a way out, I want there to be one."

"Yeah," Ichigo said more softly.

He thought quietly for a while, as Kisuke took a few bites of food from the tray that had been left for him.

"Kisuke?"

"Hmmm?"

"What's the one thing that would make you fight the hardest?"

The shopkeeper observed him quietly as he sipped again at his water.

"I dunno," Kisuke answered, "I'd have to think about it. I have lots of things to live for."

_But there's only one thing you chose to die for..._

Ichigo watched silently as Kisuke's gray eyes closed, and he drifted into a restless sleep. He slipped a hand into the shopkeeper's and spoke very softly to soothe him into a deeper sleep. Before long, he was blinking and yawning, himself. Loathe to leave his friend's side, the Shiba heir simply let his face rest on his arms on the edge of the bed. In moments, he was asleep.

_Ichigo felt something soft touch his face and opened his eyes to find a red soul ribbon fluttering near him. He sat up, stretched and gazed at it, following its path with his eyes and feeling familiarity at its touch._

_"Kisuke?" he whispered, taking off in a flash step and following the pretty red strand._

_The air went dark around him, and for a time, he couldn't see anything but that red ribbon, moving softly and guiding him along. He continued in his path until the air around him brightened again, and he flash stepped down into a windswept, rainy world, filled with powerful, creative reiatsu._

_"This seems like a place I'd find you," Ichigo said softly, looking around at the mountains of reiatsu and a scattering of things that looked like works in progress. One project seemed to include several bulbous beakers filled with colorful fluid. Another area displayed a complicated looking machine that buzzed and whirred busily. Oddly colored and shaped plants grew in one area and a field of silver, ringing bells grew in another._

_"Ichigo?" said a sleepy voice._

_The younger man sensed the direction and followed the voice to where Kisuke knelt at the side of a clear, blue lake, looking into the water. Ichigo made a sound of surprise as he spotted images on the water's surface._

_The scene was beautiful, both for its content and for its simplicity. Kisuke stood, uninjured and smiling, his arms around Ichigo and rubbing his rounded belly gently._

_"Are you happy?" the image of him asked the shopkeeper._

_"I can't imagine being happier," the image of Kisuke answered, meeting Ichigo's image for a long, deep kiss, "You're beautiful. I've never seen anything more beautiful, not in all my years."_

Ichigo sat up suddenly, his heart pounding and his eyes rounded. He blinked and turned his head to look at Kisuke.

"Sumimasen," Tetsuya's soft voice said from the doorway, distracting him, "My apologies for disturbing you, Ichigo-san, but I am here to infuse Urahara-san with my reiatsu to slow the poison."

"Right," Ichigo said, starting to rise, "I'll just..."

"You don't have to leave," the noble said, laying a staying hand on the Shiba heir's shoulder, "In fact, I sense a peacefulness in him that seems to center on you. Please, stay."

"Y-yeah, okay," Ichigo stammered, sitting back down and watching as Tetsuya moved to Kisuke's other side and sat down in a chair beside the bed.

Tetsuya extended his hands, laying them gently on Kisuke's forehead and chest, then he sent a slow flow of glowing blue reiatsu seeping into the other man's body. For a time, all was still in the room, except for the movement of that reiatsu as it joined with Kisuke's and made a look of relief rise on his sleeping face. Kisuke smiled without opening his eyes, and one shaky hand rose and came to rest on Tetsuya's rounded belly.

"You eatin' enough and gettin' your rest?" Kisuke mumbled dazedly.

"I am doing just fine," Tetsuya assured him, caressing his face for a moment and soothing him towards sleep again, "The baby and I are both fine, thanks to you."

"G-good," whispered the shopkeeper, his voice fading, "Then...everything's...okay."

Tetsuya's eyes closed and his expression became tormented as Kisuke drifted off to sleep again.

"It's okay," Ichigo said softly, startling the other young man into looking up at him.

"How can you say that?" Tetsuya asked brokenly, "He made a terrible sacrifice, and it burdens my heart to know what I've cost him."

"Hey," Ichigo said, taking Tetsuya's warm, soft hand and caressing it lightly, "You know what your baby means to him, ne? It's like he's been living a little bit through you and this baby for a while now."

"I've known for some time that he wanted a family of his own."

"Well, he has Tessai and Jinta and Ururu," said Ichigo.

"You know what I mean," Tetsuya said, meeting Ichigo's eyes squarely, "You _saw_ it too, didn't you? While you were sleeping at his side?"

"Wh-what?" Ichigo mused, his eyes widening.

"You know that he always wished that he could make that family with you, Ichigo."

"W-with me? How do you...?"

"The process of preparing my body for this endeavor brought me close to his soul," Tetsuya explained, "and while connected with him, I saw an image of him on the water."

"It was me!" Ichigo said breathlessly, "All this time...he's been in love with _me_!"

"All of this time," Tetsuya went on, "Urahara-san has been helping us to have our baby, inside, he has been reassuring himself it was possible for you, too. I think that, given a successful birth on my part, he would have considered the process safe enough that he might finally have told you what was in his heart...and confessed his love to you!"

_Kisuke is in love with me?_

_He dreams of marrying me and...?_

_He wanted us to make a child together?_

Ichigo's eyes closed and a large tear escaped and rolled down his face.

_I'm sorry._

_How could I be so stupid that I couldn't see?_


	2. The Chill

**Chapter 2: The Chill**

**(The first in a little hailstorm of celebration for NamineLily's birthday this week! More is on the way! Thanks so much to Cerucci (Aw, don't cry! I'm sure Ichi and Kisuke will find their miracle before the end! :) So glad the story touched your heart strings.), BunnyHopster26 (There will be lots of tender, sweet moments with Tetsuya and his husbands, as well as the cuteness of a developing romance for Ichi and Kisuke. Amidst the chaos of war and the threat of losing a life, love will still manage to be a driving force!), NamineLily (Aww, thanks! I do my best!), MissLilly2012 (Ah yes, tender and fluffy with a side of bittersweet!), Kami-no-Namida (Not to worry! This lovely couple is in safe hands with Spunky!), Ookami no Kurayami (I think I'll need tissues whichever way this goes, but I'm a little moody today!), dragonprincess01 (Not to worry! I will be writing swiftly!), kyuumihaira (Heehee! Ichigo's going to be a little confused and the fact he's a virgin will make him a little shy about things, but you know Ichigo! He'll come around!), irritatedbookworm (Heehee! I made use of something you mentioned in your notes regarding Red Samurai. Pregnant Tetsuya's going to be awfully cute! And yes, Ichigo is not quite ready for this, but really, who ever is!), Mina Kye (All right! As soon as my veeeeeeeeeeeeeeery long full time stint at work ends, I will make it my personal mission to drown us in Urahara/Ichi and Bya/Ren/Tetsuya! Oh, I really freaking HATE working full time!), Missy QueenBee (I will keep those chapters rolling!), CallMeSenseiKuchiki (Tough thing is, Kisuke usually does the saving and now needs his own miracle. Hmmm, I wonder who can give him that?), snowflowersister of toshiro241 (Yeah, I just rediscovered how much I love that guy!) Enjoy your birthday, NamineLily! And hope you all like the new chapter! Love, Spunky)**

"Hey, fleabag!" Renji's voice growled from somewhere outside the small cave Kisuke laid in, making Ichigo blink and look up in surprise, "Get off, will you? This isn't for you, you overgrown bag of bones! It's for Tetsuya. Damn, what's your problem?"

"Oi, Renji, you wanna keep it down a little?" the Shiba heir called back, "You're gonna wake up Kisuke. He's tryin' to rest."

"Sorry," the redhead said sheepishly, "That stupid horse won't leave me alone. Not that he ever did, but I've gotta get this to Tetsuya, pronto."

"Wh-what is that?" Ichigo asked, frowning at the parcel Renji was carrying, "Is that ice cream?"

"Yeah, well, chocolate fudge ice cream cake. Had to go to the living world for it, too. Can't get this in what's left of the Seireitei."

"But, uh...it's like forty degrees and raining like hell out there. Who eats ice cream when it's this damned cold?"

"Heh," Renji chuckled, his eyes growing affectionate, "Tetsuya's got cravings for icy cold sweets. He can't seem to get enough of them. And being a part of Tetsuya's soul, Arashi's doing the same thing, just not nearly as cutely."

"Oh, I don't know," Ichigo said, looking out at the stallion as he dropped to the ground and began rolling around in the sopping grass and mud outside the caves, "He's kinda cute too."

"Yeah, well, Tetsuya's freaking adorable. And the pheromones around him are so strong we can't keep our hands off of each other. He's uh, got cravings for _that_ too!"

"Eh," Ichigo said, scratching the back of his neck absently, "Does that mean Arashi's...?"

"Huh," Renji huffed, rolling his eyes, "He's got his damned nose up Byakuya's stallion, Ikazuchi's ass about every five minutes...although Ikazuchi doesn't seem to mind too much."

"R-right."

"I just hope ol' fleabag doesn't share Tetsuya's breeder ability, because if he does, we're gonna have a mess of little fleabags everywhere!"

Ichigo laughed in spite of himself, making Kisuke stir and open his eyes.

"Something funny?" he asked sleepily.

"Oh, Renji was just telling me that Arashi's got a thing for Ikazuchi now.

Kisuke gave a soft chuckle, then winced and groaned.

"Stop it, okay?" Ichigo chided him, slipping a hand into the shopkeeper's an giving it a squeeze, "The clan healer just got you put back together. We don't need you busting your stitches or anything."

"S-sorry, just thought it was funny, because you know, Arashi's probably already carrying, if you know what I mean."

"What? Really?" Ichigo said, looking amused.

"Yeah, You remember that Arashi emerged from Tetsuya's body in the first place. He's really just an extension of Tetsuya's soul. So...it stands to reason that if Tetsuya dies, he dies...and if Tetsuya's body changes to carry a child..."

He paused, biting back another groan.

"Hey, stop it," Ichigo said reprovingly.

"Why? It's just a little pain. It means I'm still here," Kisuke surmised.

"Yeah?" said Renji, "Well, if I don't get a move on, this ice cream cake's not going to be here."

"You don't think that's actually going to melt in this cold, do you?" Ichigo joked.

"Naw, I just meant if I stand here with it any longer, ol' fleabag's gonna come over here and fight me for it!" Renji quipped, making Kisuke laugh and groan again.

"Get out of here, will you?" Ichigo snapped jokingly, swatting at the redhead.

"Hey, take care, Kisuke," Renji said, taking his leave of them.

"I will," the shopkeeper answered, closing his eyes.

Ichigo didn't miss that fact that Kisuke continued to hold on to his hand. He sat quietly, caught up in his thoughts, for several long minutes.

"Hey, Kisuke, you awake?"

"Mhmm?"

"Your hand feels cold. Are you sure you're warm enough?"

"I'm all right," Kisuke assured him, "though I do think it'd be pretty handy to be like Tetsuya right about now. He feels the cold, but can't be affected by exposure to it like the rest of us can."

"Which explains why he can eat ice cream cake in the freezing cold, ne?"

"Yeah."

The ginger-haired youth went silent for a time, listening to the steady pounding of the rain and low rumble of thunder.

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Your hand is cold too. And you've been here for hours. It's late. You should go and get some rest."

"Naw, I'm fine. I'm not tired," Ichigo lied, biting his lips so he wouldn't yawn.

"Are you kidding me? I can feel your reiatsu drooping."

"Is that right?" Ichigo chuckled, "Well, the truth is, there was a shortage on blankets. They're trying to get some from the living world, but there's some problem with making sure we don't bring in too much stuff from there at once and disturb the balance of things. Anyway, it's not as cold in here as it is in my quarters."

"You could go back to Shiba Manor," Kisuke suggested.

"No, not really," Ichigo chuckled sadly, "It's in the same shape Kuchiki Manor's in. Besides, I'm fine here."

"You don't have to feel obligated to stay, you know."

"Well, I don't, so knock off trying to get me to leave, okay? You're gonna make me feel unloved or something."

Ichigo flinched inwardly at the quickly concealed flash of regret the words brought to the shopkeeper's shadowed eyes.

"That's not going to happen."

"I know," Ichigo said, caressing the hand he held, "I was just kidding, okay?"

"Okay."

Kisuke's eyes closed again and he went quiet. Ichigo studied his calm sleeping face, looking for signs of discomfort. When he was reasonably sure the other man slept, he slipped his hand free and observe Kisuke silently for a while, then leaned forward, closing his eyes and remembering.

_There was this thing he did when I was hurt and the pain blocks couldn't kill the pain...some kind of use of his reiatsu that felt real soothing..._

_I suck at this kind of thing, but..._

He focused carefully, letting out his breath slowly and trying to sense the painful areas. A soft sound of surprise and approval escaped him as he picked up several flickers of palpable discomfort. He clamped down on his reiatsu and tried to imagine it being as soft as sakura petals. It took several tries before he nervously made his hands touch the shopkeeper and he began to lightly infuse and caress the uncomfortable areas. Almost immediately, Kisuke made a sleepy sound of relief and his body seemed to relax.

"F-feels good," the shopkeeper said without opening his eyes.

"Yeah?" Ichigo chuckled, smiling anxiously, "I wasn't sure I could do it."

"You're doing that pretty well, for not being taught properly."

"Am I?"

"Yeah, but your hands are like ice."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. It's worth it to have the pain go away for a while."

The ginger-haired youth continued the infusion and gentle massage, looking up as Tetsuya entered the cave and provided another treatment to slow the poison.

"Hey, Tetsuya," Ichigo greeted him.

"Ichigo-san," Tetsuya replied, settling down next to the shopkeeper and beginning the infusion, "Have you been here all night?"

"Yeah, I didn't have anything better to do."

"And since you donated your blankets as we did, your chambers are probably uncomfortably cold, ne?"

"Yeah," Ichigo confessed, "I sure hope they can get some supplies in soon, or that this storm ends or, you know..."

"I, myself, am not so bothered by the chill, but Byakuya-sama and Renji-san have been suffering. They are being quite silly, though. They insist on still sleeping next to me, even though they know that my body temperature is affected by the cold, and though it doesn't bother me, it can make it uncomfortable to lie next to me."

Ichigo giggled softly at the thought.

"They really must love you," he said, smiling.

"Fools," Tetsuya said dismissively, "They could sleep in another chamber and keep each other warm if they weren't obsessed with being so protective of me. Well, hopefully, it will get warmer before those two freeze to death snuggling up to me."

"Aw, I don't think they care at all about that," Ichigo mused, "They're just so happy you're having their kid. You look real happy too. And to be able to feel happy when everything's been shot to hell is a pretty good thing."

"Yes," Tetsuya sighed, "it is something to brighten things, even in the worst of times. That love, that new life can go on from the ashes of war is a comforting thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, sinking into his thoughts again as Tetsuya finished the infusion, then gently removed Kisuke's hand from where it had drifted to touch his baby bump.

His thoughts continued on troubled paths, even as the area grew quiet and even the rain seemed to calm to a whisper. The cold wrapped around him, making him shiver and wrap his arms around his body, trying to keep the heat in. He tucked the blankets carefully around the shopkeeper, then touched his face gently to feel for fever.

"Ichigo, you're freezing," Kisuke mumbled.

"I'm fine."

"You should get under the blankets. We can share body warmth."

"I'll be okay."

"No, I mean you're going to shock me to death with those icy hands if you don't warm them up."

"Oh," the ginger-haired youth said sheepishly, "Sorry."

"It's okay."

Ichigo looked down at the injured shopkeeper, his heart pounding strangely in his chest and a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold, passed through him.

"You know, maybe I should get in and warm up a little. Wouldn't want to freeze you or anything."

"Sounds good," Kisuke mumbled, shifting slightly and lifting the blanket.

Ichigo swallowed hard, then slid in under the covers, apologizing as the chill on his body made the other man quiver and tighten his jaw.

"Sorry!"

"It's okay. It'll just take a minute or two for my warmth to warm you up too."

Ichigo gave a shuddering sigh of relief as the heavy chill faded and Kisuke's warmth seeped into him. The shopkeeper's arm curled around his waist and he pressed up against the Shiba heir's back, smiling.

"That's better than being out there freezing, ne?" Kisuke chuckled.

"For me, maybe, but I think I about froze your ass off, getting in with you like this."

"I've got no problem with it," Kisuke laughed, "And once you're warmed up, it'll be good for both of us, won't it?"

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, blushing.

_Damn, I wonder if he can feel how fast my heart is beating..._

_He smells good..._

"Hey, you mind helping me roll onto my back?" Kisuke asked, startling him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, sure. No problem," Ichigo said hastily, turning and easing the other man onto his back.

He remained sitting up for a moment.

_Do I...? Does he want me to...?_

Keeping his eyes fixed on Kisuke's, Ichigo slid back down onto the bed, laying his body along the other man's side.

"You can lie down more on my chest," Kisuke offered, "You'll stay warmer."

"You sure I won't hurt you?"

"Yeah. The pain block's working pretty well now. Go ahead."

"Ah...okay, if you're sure it won't hurt."

"It's fine," Kisuke assured him, looking amused, "I'll give a yelp if you hurt me."

"R-right," Ichigo said, flushing more brightly as he settled onto Kisuke's chest.

_Oh! His heart's beating pretty fast too, _he realized suddenly.

"Eh, this is a better position for me to soothe the painful spots from too," he added, tucking his face into the shopkeeper's shoulder.

Almost immediately, the shopkeeper's warm scent drifted over his senses, causing a reaction in the younger man's loins. Ichigo blushed harder, trying to keep his breathing slow, even though his heart continued to skip and race fitfully. A moment later, he felt a gentle pressure against his thigh.

_Huh, he's reacting to me too,_ Ichigo thought, finding himself smiling.

He let one hand move from place to place on the resting shopkeeper's body, soothing the flickers of pain. Kisuke breathed steadily, relaxing more with the gentle caresses.

"You look better since Tetsuya was in here," Ichigo commented, meeting the other man's eyes in the darkness.

"The infusion did help," Kisuke agreed, "but that healing technique you're using is really what's helping more."

"Really?" Ichigo mused, "But I suck at this. Imagine what a good healer could do if he got into bed with you."

Kisuke let out a laugh as Ichigo flushed brightly and tried to recover himself.

"Oh, damn it! Just ignore me. I don't know what the hell I'm saying."

"It's fine," Kisuke snickered, "It's good to have something to laugh about."

"I thought laughing hurt," Ichigo objected.

"Every fucking thing hurts," Kisuke sighed, rubbing the Shiba heir's back and closing his eyes again, "Don't worry about it. I'm still here. Let's let that be enough, okay?"

"Whatever you say," Ichigo said, burying his face in the shopkeeper's shoulder again, "But you should really get some more rest. Before you know it, Tetsuya will be back in here to give you another infusion."

"Tetsuya's a good kid. He's got a good heart," Kisuke yawned, "He's been real helpful with my research too. I figured out how his body changes because of that breeder gene he carries."

"Sounds interesting."

"It's pretty damned profound for a discovery because it appears that gene can be manipulated in other males too. That's something we didn't know before."

"S-so, you could help another guy get pregnant...if...if he wanted to?" Ichigo asked.

"Why? You wanna give the Shiba clan that heir they keep bugging you about? You know, you could just pick one of those girls they've been throwing at you lately."

"This isn't the time to be thinking about stuff like that," Ichigo chided him, "The war's just ended and we're picking up the mess it left. We shouldn't be thinking about making more babies when we hardly have what we need to take care of the ones already here."

"Ah, you're probably right," the shopkeeper sighed, "I just can't help feeling hopeful when I see Tetsuya. That there's that kind of happiness in him makes me feel happy too."

Kisuke yawned again and squeezed Ichigo's hand.

"Anyway, if you do pick a guy to have a baby with, just give me a yell and I'll help you or him with that, okay?"

"You're still healing, stupid," Ichigo said, off-handedly, "No one's making any babies while you're like this."

"Well, if you want my help, you should ask soon. I don't have forever, you know."

"Kisuke..."

"Sorry, just being straightforward. That's the truth of things."

"You don't know that, for sure."

"Ichigo, you need to face the facts. I know you're looking at the bright side and trying to stay hopeful, but I know how things really are, here. You need to deal with the fact that I'm dying."

"I'm sorry. I can't do that."

"Well," Kisuke said, matter-of-factly, "That's the way things are. You can't change it by sheer force of will."

"Well, you sure as hell never cured anything by giving up!" the younger man said in a flustered tone, "Come on! If there's anyone who can find an answer, then you can. But you need to believe the answer is there. That's what you've said every other time when the shit hit the fan and someone needed a miracle. Why is this any different?"

"W-well...I guess...when it comes right down to it, it's not," Kisuke confessed, "But the odds are stacked up pretty heavily against it."

"So, that's happened before," Ichigo said firmly, "You know, I think all you need is something to, not just make you feel positive you want to survive, you need a reason to stay...a really big reason."

"I've got plenty of..."

"No, I mean...a reason like this," Ichigo answered, stunning the other man with a long, heart-melting kiss.


End file.
